Reply to MCPS to Virginia - where do I start?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Look at area around Rodef Sholom.  Haycock is the school and has many Jewish families.  Near the West Falls Church metro stop.[/quote]

Second to the area around Rodef Shalom in Falls Church. We're Jewish with similar considerations. I grew up in MCPS and we are moving to Falls Church City largely for schools, but also for commuting distance, walkability, and proximity to a decent Jewish community.

This area straddles the Fairfax / Falls Church City line.  Haycock is probably a better bet for you because it is larger and from secondhand info has more resources for special needs (both IEP and GT kids). But Falls Church City has its own school system that is generally very well regarded, particularly for people looking for a smaller school and a more intimate setting.  We chose FCC but Haycock is also quite good. Your budget will go farther in the Haycock district because FCC schools carry a cost premium, and taxes are higher there also.

Some other thoughts:

The densest Jewish area is, as others have said, around the JCC in Annandale/Fairfax. The NoVA Jewish community is in general less dense than in Maryland and your kid won't have a class that's 40% Jewish like in some parts of Montgomery County no matter where you move. But there are a number of synagogues in Northern Virginia that I've generally found to be as welcoming as where I went in Maryland.

Rodef is the largest synagogue in Northern Virginia so you'll find a fair concentration of Jews in the surrounding area. It's Reform. If you are conservative, check out Agudas Achim in Alexandria, Olam Tikvah in Fairfax, or Etz Hayim in Arlington. I know Rodef, Agudas, and OT all have active families programming. I assume Etz Hayim does but don't know for sure.

I would recommend against the area around the JCC even though there are more Jews if you're prioritizing commute above everything else. That's maybe a 30-40 minute drive in traffic. In contrast, it's about a 10-15 minute drive or metro ride from the Rodef Shalom part of Falls Church, near WFC Metro, to Virginia Square.

The right hand side of this page has a good overview of the major parts of Northern Virgjnia from a Jewizh perspective: http://www.jconnect.org/resources/new-to-the-area/northern-virginia. [/quote]

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